Duke Bringing ACC-Leading Passing Attack to Kenan Stadium

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Looking to right the ship after a lopsided loss to Wake Forest, North Carolina will play host to Duke for its final home game of the season on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m., ACC Network). 

The Tar Heels (4-6 overall, 2-4 ACC) and the Blue Devils (5-5 overall, 4-2 ACC) will meet for the 110th time. UNC holds the series lead with a 63-42-4 record over Duke, and has won five of the last six meetings. However, the one loss in that stretch was last season, when the Blue Devils came back from down 20-0 in the third quarter to beat North Carolina and take hold of the Victory Bell for the first time since 2018.

Duke is led by head coach Manny Diaz, who is in his second year with the program. Diaz climbed the coaching ranks on the defensive side of the ball, working as defensive coordinator for several programs, including Texas, Mississippi State and Miami, before taking over as head coach of the Hurricanes for the 2019-21 seasons. He then spent a two-year stint as Penn State’s defensive coordinator in 2022-23, before Duke hired him as its head coach prior to last season. 

The Blue Devils have endured an up-and-down season much like North Carolina, but are one win away from bowl eligibility. Three of Duke’s five losses have come at the hands of ranked opponents at home, with an early blowout loss, 45-19, to No. 11 Illinois, a 27-18 loss against No. 12 Georgia Tech and a 34-17 loss to No. 20 Virginia last weekend. The Blue Devils have also suffered two losses to Group of Five opponents, including a week three loss at Tulane and a recent loss at Connecticut two weeks ago.  

In the ACC, Duke has been able to collect several wins, however, keeping the Blue Devils in contention for the ACC championship game with a 4-2 conference record. This includes a three-game win streak over N.C. State, Syracuse and California midway through the season, before beating Clemson at Death Valley in a 46-45 nail-biter.

Mensah Leads Duke’s Passing Attack as ‘NFL Quarterback’

In Wednesday’s midweek press conference, UNC coach Bill Belichick raved about Blue Devil quarterback Darian Mensah. The sophomore signal caller transferred from Tulane this past offseason and has put together an impressive season, with the fourth most passing yards in college football (3,007) to go along with 25 touchdowns against four interceptions. 

Mensah leads the ACC in almost every passing statistic, including touchdowns, yards per game (300.7) and completions (242 on 356 attempts). He’s thrown three or more touchdowns in five games this season, and has eclipsed 250 yards — a feat no Tar Heel quarterback has done this season — in 8 of his 10 starts. 

It’s not just the stats that pop out about Mensah’s game, though, as Belichick praised the quarterback for his mechanics and claimed he possesses the skills to play at the next level. 

“I think he’s the best quarterback we’ll face, and we faced some good quarterbacks,” Belichick said on Wednesday. “This guy really reminds me of an NFL quarterback. He’s got a great presence in the pocket. He does an excellent job of seeing coverages, seeing receivers. He’s very accurate down the field, good throwing mechanics.” 

Duke Defense Capable of Disruption

After failing to find the endzone last week for the first time since 2016, North Carolina’s offense will have the chance to bounce back against a Duke defense that concedes the fourth-most yards per game in the ACC (420.3). But the Blue Devils have been able to hamper opposing offenses by creating turnovers this season. 

Duke is 3-1 in games where it’s generated two or more takeaways, and is 1-3 in games without a turnover. Belichick pointed out that it’s the Blue Devil defensive line that creates most of the issues for opposing teams and helps generate game-changing plays. 

“Defensively, they have a very good front,” Belichick said. “Those guys are very disruptive up front, starting with (Wesley) Williams, but it’s really all of them. They do a good job of causing negative plays, putting pressure on the quarterback. They’re a hard group to handle. They can definitely ruin the game.” 

Given Duke’s explosiveness on offense, North Carolina will likely need to limit its turnovers if the Tar Heels want to have a chance to keep pace on the scoreboard. And though Gio Lopez has not thrown an interception in three games, the Tar Heels have turned the ball over eight times over the past five outings.